According to the experts, the “remarkable evolution of intelligent complexity” that resulted in the emergence of the octopus 270 million years ago goes against what we know about Darwinian evolution – that it’s a slow, gradual process.

They say the genes behind this ultra-fast form of natural selection don’t appear to have come from an ancestral origin.

The study, published in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, claims: “The genome of the octopus shows a staggering level of complexity with 33,000 protein-coding genes more than is present in Homo sapiens.

Did the Simpsons already predict this theory? The show’s aliens Kodos and Kang definitely look like octupuses

“Its large brain and sophisticated nervous system, camera-like eyes, flexible bodies, instantaneous camouflage via the ability to switch colour and shape are just a few of the striking features that appear suddenly on the evolutionary scene.

“The transformative genes leading from the consensus ancestral nautilus to the common cuttlefish to squid to the common octopus are not easily to be found in any pre-existing life form.

“It is plausible then to suggest they seem to be borrowed from a far distant ‘future’ in terms of terrestrial evolution, or more realistically from the cosmos at large.”

The new paper hinges on previous ideas put forward by its authors several decades back, chief among them the Panspermia hypothesis.

This theory suggests that extraterrestrials seeded Earth’s population billions of years ago when viruses, microbes and even tiny life forms arrived on our planet from outer space.

It all sounds a bit like Ridley Scott’s Alien origin movie Prometheus, only swap out naked humanoid ETs for sea molluscs.

In the paper, the researchers indicate that octopus eggs were among these new forms of life that came from an alien source, hinting at why today they’re so darn clever.

Giant octopus makes desperate bid to escape from its aquarium after becoming free

However, a number of other researches have gone on the record to dismiss the findings, which even the authors claim are fanciful.

These include biologist P.Z. Myers, who debunked the paper as “garbage,” and urged that the “novelties” in cephalopod evolution don’t point to octopuses having originally come from another planet.

In a review of the recent study, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics scientist Karin Moelling noted that there’s no evidence to back up the claim that octopuses came from aliens, thus making it impossible to take the paper seriously.

Most read in tech

BLOOD MONEY

School shooting simulator slammed by gamers and anti-gun charity

TOP TECH

Get over 50 per cent off at Currys this Bank Holiday

TECH FLOGGER

Want to sell your house faster? Fill it with smart home gadgets like Alexa

Gr-a8 deal

Get the best deal on a Samsung Galaxy A8

PAY DAY

iPhone repaired last year? Apple will pay you £54 if you had THIS fix

stalker's paradise

Tinder's creepy new update shares your EXACT location with everyone

She added that there are other, more simpler explanations for the so-called “Cambrian explosion”, where scores of life forms appeared on earth between 485 million to 541 million years ago, reports Inquisitr.

But one thing everyone should agree on is that the insane theory makes for fun food for thought.

What animals do you think could be aliens? Let us know in the comments.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.